1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a drumstick, more particularly it relates to an improved drumstick and to the construction thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in the art that numerous problems and difficulties are encountered in providing a drumstick that is capable of withstanding the severe abuse which accompanies playing techniques. The inherent percussion which accompanies conventional playing techniques, frequently causes drumsticks to "wear" or it causes the conventional wooden stick to get "soft". Once the stick gets soft, the sound characteristics change. For example, a soft tip produces a "darker" sound, rather than a "brighter" sound. A dark sound is one which is perceived in a more bass mode than in tenor. In order to prolong the life and the fidelity of the sound of a given stick, it is not uncommon among more accomplished drummers to "flip" the stick when the tip gets soft. Also an accomplished drummer may flip the stick to the butt end, from the tip end, in order to obtain a slightly different sound, that is a lower sound on the scale.
In order to reduce the wear resulting from constant percussion, inventors in the prior art have sought numerous alternatives. These have ranged from utilization of harder woods, such as for example, oak to utilization of entirely synthetic sticks and utilization of metallic sticks, such as for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,350. However accomplished users are familiar with and prefer the weight and feel of wooden sticks over most other synthetic and/or metallic materials. Therefore, the use of wooden sticks having metallic and/or synthetic ends thereon, are not unknown in the art.
The synthetic sticks, such as is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,688 are not generally preferred and therefore there remains, through the years, the unquestionable conclusion that wooden type sticks meet with uniform favor from percussionists because of the optimum results in sound-producing when striking a drum or cymbal, and because of the feel that is established by the proper distribution of weight. Also, it is believed by many that the flexural characteristics of the wooden type stick could not be duplicated by synthetically formed drumsticks. Moreover, the benefits of wooden drumsticks and the advantages of synthetic materials have not, heretofore, been readily combined on the tip and/or butt end of a wooden stick while enabling "flipping" of the stick from one usage end to the other without encountering a surface obstruction on the stick shaft.
In connection with the above, one may note that percussion instruments are being more commonly employed in contemporary music as more than a means of producing rhythm. The drumsticks are used in a more physical manner causing the normal or typical wooden sticks to not merely wear but to even splinter or break--in periods as short as minutes or hours. Drumsticks having tipped ends of the type have mentioned, are taught in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,119 to Gilbert, wherein a drumstick bead 24 is set upon a board stick 23. Such beaded sticks provide obstructions to the hand when the stick is flipped. Also, hollow portions extending through a bead adversely affect the quality of sound production. Similarly, sticks with hollowed interiors into which a bead is fitted are found to wear, if not fracture more easily then solid sticks, due to the absence of substantive body in the shaft at the percussion end.